You’ll want to explore nearby Yoshkar-Ola. What’s 19 miles when you’ve got your own rental car? The drive itself is half the fun! Among your first few stops here should be Museum of the History of the Gulag, Sapaev Mari State Opera and Ballet Theatre and Mari El National Shketan Drama Theater. Locals will also likely point you toward Cheboksary, 60 miles away. If you can only see one attraction here, let it be Monument of Mother. (But we’re also huge fans of Chuvash National Museum and Museum of V.I. Chapaev.)